Plany ogólne gmin a postanowienia planów ochrony parków narodowych, parków krajobrazowych oraz rezerwatów przyrody

The Act of July 7, 2023, amending the Act on Spatial Planning and Development and certain other acts (Journal of Laws 2023, item 1688) introduced the general municipal plan into the Polish spatial planning system. Pursuant to Article 13a(7) of the Act of March 27, 2003, on Spatial Planning and Development (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1130, as amended), these plans constitute acts of local law. Consequently, the solutions they establish will determine the entire spatial management process within a municipality. They will also be of significant importance for environmental protection, which cannot be effectively implemented in isolation from the spatial context in which the protected environmental components are located. An important role in this regard is played by the provisions of protection plans developed for national parks, landscape parks, and nature reserves – forms of nature protection referred to in Article 6 of the Act of April 16, 2004, on Nature Protection (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1478, as amended). Against this background, this article discusses the role of protection plans in the environmental protection system, their legal nature, and the manner in which the restrictions they impose should be incorporated into the development of general plans.